Method and apparatus for signal processing by light waveform shaping

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for signal processing by light waveform shaping are provided to process an uplink signal generated by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and/or process a downlink signal to be transmitted to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The method includes adjusting the waveform of the uplink signal and/or the waveform of the downlink signal with a light waveform shaping module so that, even if the DAC and/or ADC has a low sampling rate and a narrow bandwidth, a high-frequency signal portion of the uplink signal and/or a high-frequency signal portion of the downlink signal can be preserved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for signal processing and more particularly to a method and apparatus for processing an uplink signal and/or a downlink signal by a light waveform shaping technique.

2. Description of Related Art

The sampling rate of a conventional analog-to-digital converter (ADC) or digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is in direct proportion to the bandwidth of the converter, and yet the latest signal processing techniques, such as the delay-division-multiplexing OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access) passive optical network (DDM-OFDMA PON) technique, require a converter with a low sampling rate and a wide bandwidth. While the development of the latter converter contributes greatly to reducing power consumption and simplifying computation, extensive use of such converters is difficult to achieve.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order for a conventional converter, whose sampling rate is in direct proportion to the converter's bandwidth, to satisfy the need for a low-sampling-rate yet wide-bandwidth converter, the inventor of the present invention provides a method for signal processing, or more particularly for processing an uplink signal generated by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and/or processing a downlink signal to be transmitted to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), by light waveform shaping. The method includes adjusting the waveform of the uplink signal and/or the waveform of the downlink signal with a light waveform shaping module so that a high-frequency signal portion of the uplink signal and/or a high-frequency signal portion of the downlink signal is preserved even though the ADC and/or the DAC has a low sampling rate and a narrow bandwidth.

Preferably, the light waveform shaping module includes an optical modulation module for turning the uplink signal into a light pulse signal to prevent suppression of a high-frequency image signal portion of the uplink signal.

Preferably, the light waveform shaping module includes an optical gating for suppressing inter-sample interference of the downlink signal and thereby eliminating the low-pass effect in order to preserve aliasing between the high-frequency signal portion and a low-frequency signal portion of the downlink signal.

The present invention also provides an apparatus for signal processing by light waveform shaping. The apparatus includes: a DAC for generating an uplink signal, an ADC for receiving a downlink signal, and a light waveform shaping module separately and electrically connected to the DAC and the ADC. The light waveform shaping module is configured for processing the uplink signal and/or the downlink signal in order to preserve a high-frequency signal portion of the uplink signal and/or a high-frequency signal portion the downlink signal.

Preferably, the light waveform shaping module includes an optical modulation module electrically connected to the DAC and configured for turning the uplink signal into a light pulse signal so that a high-frequency image signal portion of the uplink signal is not suppressed.

Preferably, the optical modulation module includes at least one optical modulator, and the at least one optical modulator may be either one or a combination of an electro-absorption modulator and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

Preferably, the light waveform shaping module includes an optical gating electrically connected to the ADC and configured for suppressing inter-sample interference of the downlink signal and thereby eliminating the low-pass effect in order to preserve aliasing between the high-frequency signal portion and a low-frequency signal portion of the downlink signal.

Preferably, the optical gating includes at least one optical modulator, and the at least one optical modulator may be either one or a combination of an electro-absorption modulator and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. In addition, the optical gating is connected to an optical band-pass filter and a photodetector.

The present invention further provides an apparatus for signal processing by light waveform shaping, wherein the apparatus includes: a DAC for generating an uplink signal; an ADC for receiving a downlink signal; and a light waveform shaping module separately and electrically connected to the DAC and the ADC, configured for processing the uplink signal and/or the downlink signal, and including an optical modulation module and an optical gating. The optical modulation module turns the uplink signal into a light pulse signal to prevent suppression of a high-frequency image signal portion of the uplink signal. The optical gating suppresses inter-sample interference of the downlink signal so that the low-pass effect is eliminated to preserve aliasing between a high-frequency signal portion and a low-frequency signal portion of the downlink signal.

The foregoing technical features produce the following effects:

By applying the light waveform shaping technique, a high-frequency signal portion of the uplink signal and/or a high-frequency signal portion of the downlink signal can be preserved to overcome the limitation of using a low-sampling-rate and narrow-bandwidth ADC or DAC, and this helps put the DDM techniques into more extensive use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is another schematic circuit diagram of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 schematically shows how an uplink signal is processed by the embodiment in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 schematically shows how a downlink signal is processed by the embodiment in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention incorporates the foregoing technical features into a method and apparatus for signal processing by light waveform shaping. The major effects of the method and apparatus can be readily understood by reference to the embodiment described below, where the DDM-OFDMA PON technique is applied by way of example.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a central office (CO) A is connected to at least one optical network unit (ONU) 10 via a single-mode optical fiber B. Each ONU 10 includes one apparatus of the present invention for processing signals by light waveform shaping. The apparatus of the present invention includes a low-sampling-rate (LSR), narrow-bandwidth digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 1, an LSR narrow-bandwidth analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 2, and a light waveform shaping module 3. The DAC 1 is configured to generate an uplink signal while the ADC 2 is configured to receive a downlink signal.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the light waveform shaping module 3 is separately and electrically connected to the DAC 1 and the ADC 2 and is configured to process the uplink signal and/or the downlink signal. The light waveform shaping module 3 includes an optical modulation module 31 and an optical gating 32. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the optical modulation module 31 is configured to turn the uplink signal into a light pulse signal 302, thereby preventing a high-frequency image signal portion of the uplink signal from be suppressed. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the optical gating 32 is configured to suppress inter-sample interference 301 of the downlink signal so that the low-pass effect is eliminated to preserve aliasing between a high-frequency signal portion and a low-frequency signal portion of the downlink signal.

More specifically, with continued reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the optical modulation module 31 includes at least one optical modulator, which in this embodiment includes an electro-absorption modulator (EAM) 311. The EAM 311 is optically connected to a light pulse source 300 and is configured to generate the light pulse signal 302 by modulating the light pulse source 300. The light pulse source 300 may be generated by a Mach-Zehnder interferometer 312, another EAM 313, or a gain-switching (GS) pulse laser diode 314. The Mach-Zehnder interferometer 312 and the EAM 313 are respectively and optically connected to continuous-wave (CW) laser diodes 315 and 316 and are electrically connected to a sine-wave oscillator 30. The GS pulse laser diode 314 is also electrically connected to the sine-wave oscillator 30. The sine-wave oscillator 30 serves to either directly drive the GS pulse laser diode 314 to generate the light pulse source 300, or drive the Mach-Zehnder interferometer 312 and the EAM 313 to modulate the CW laser diodes 315 and 316 respectively in order to generate the light pulse source 300.

As shown in FIG. 3, the optical gating 32 includes at least one optical modulator, which in this embodiment includes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer 321, an EAM 322, and a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) 323. The Mach-Zehnder interferometer 321, the EAM 322, and the SOA 323 are all connected to the sine-wave oscillator 30. The sine-wave oscillator 30 controls losses of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer 321 and the EAM 322 or gain of the SOA 323 in order to turn on or off the downlink signal (i.e., the light waveform shaping operation). Moreover, the optical gating 32 is connected to an optical band-pass filter (OBPF) 324 and a photodetector 325. The OBPF 324 serves to filter out optical noise and may be dispensed with if so desired.

The above description of the embodiment should be able to enable a full understanding of the operation, use, and effects of the present invention. The embodiment, however, is only a preferred one of the invention and is not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the appended claims and the disclosure of this specification should be encompassed by the invention. 

1-8. (canceled)
 9. An apparatus for signal processing by light waveform shaping, comprising: a digital-to-analog converter generating an uplink signal; an analog-to-digital converter receiving a downlink signal; and a light waveform shaper separately and electrically connected to the digital-to-analog converter and the analog-to-digital converter and processing at least one of the uplink signal and the downlink signal, the light waveform shaper including an optical modulation subsystem and an optical gating, the optical modulation subsystem turning the uplink signal into a light pulse signal and thereby preventing suppression of a high-frequency image signal portion of the uplink signal, and the optical gating suppressing inter-sample interference of the downlink signal and thereby eliminating a low-pass effect in order to preserve aliasing between a high-frequency signal portion and a low-frequency signal portion of the downlink signal.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each of the optical modulation subsystem and the optical gating includes at least one optical modulator, and the at least one optical modulator of the optical modulation subsystem or the optical gating is one or an arbitrary combination of an electro-absorption modulator, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, a gain-switching (GS) pulse laser diode, and a semiconductor optical amplifier. 